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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29382027">The Slayer's Guardian</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WiredDreams92/pseuds/WiredDreams92'>WiredDreams92</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Demons, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Half-Siblings, Magic, Monsters, Multi, Mystery, Sibling Love, Sibling Rivalry, Siblings, Vampire Slayer(s), Vampires</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:08:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,356</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29382027</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WiredDreams92/pseuds/WiredDreams92</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Dawn wasn't the only magical addition to Buffy's family?<br/>Laurel Summers is the older half-sister of Buffy and Dawn Summers, and she lived a pretty normal life. She is not pretty normal, though, she has a weird ability. Her true nature and the supernatural reality of the world are revealed to her when she moves to Sunnydale, California.<br/>How would she cope with the supernatural? What would she do to protect her sisters?<br/>[ON HIATUS]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Buffy Summers &amp; Dawn Summers, Buffy Summers &amp; Original Female Character, Dawn Summers &amp; Original Female Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Welcome Back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello everyone!<br/>This is a fanfiction of Buffy:The Vampire Slayer, the TV series. I won't follow step by step the TV series, so be aware of left-out characters and minor changes.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Here I am, California, in the United States to stay. It's getting darker outside, the days are getting shorter already. With the feel of cotton in my hands, in my little sister's room helping her unpack her stuff, my mind wanders to summer and its end. I feel like it's not just something natural, but an omen as well. Like something's coming.<br/>
My little sister's voice brings me back to Earth.<br/>
"You're really quiet."<br/>
"Am I?"<br/>
She shrugs, folding her stuff beside me, where we both face her bed with the luggage on its covers. "Since we landed, yeah…"<br/>
I loose focus for a second, thinking that her voice has a sing-song quality to it. Not like a bell chime or something so unnatural as people like to write in books, though, and I wonder if she knows it. "I must be tired." I catch a movement at the corner of my eyes, recognising my sister's 'funny-fog' - a shadow-like thing that I can see around people, like an aura, but not quite - and I know that something's coming. In fact, while she's still talking, I hear the front door, two female voices from downstairs, and footsteps coming up. I glance over my shoulders at the closed door a few seconds before it's opened.<br/>
"What are you doing here?"<br/>
I turn to face the irritated voice's owner.<br/>
"A 'welcome back' would be nice."<br/>
I glance back at my youngest sister, who seems suddenly pissed, with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.<br/>
"Welcome back Dawny", my other sister replies. "But I wasn't talking to you."<br/>
I sigh and try for a smile. "Long time no see, lil' sis."<br/>
“Don’t give me that ‘lil’ sis’ crap", she retorts, crossing her arms in front of her chest.<br/>
This family has a serious problem with crossed arms, they abuse it.<br/>
"As you wish, Anne." And now I gain the typical eye roll. I know I should use her first name, instead of pissing her off more, but that sounds so weird, I don't like saying it.<br/>
Joyce knocks on the sill of the open door and I, for once, am relieved to see her; she just saved me from my sister's wrath. "Buffy, honey, I need you to go with Dawn tomorrow, for school supplies shopping-"<br/>
The girls both say "mom!" at the same time.<br/>
"And, Laurel, would you like to stay for dinner? It's kinda late already."<br/>
"Oh, I'd love to, thank you, Joyce!" Anne follows her mother out of Dawn's room like a tornado.<br/>
My youngest sister sits on the bed, careless of what she might squish in the process, and looks up at me. "Can you come tomorrow, as well? If I'm alone with Buffy for more than five minutes we're gonna argue, I know it."<br/>
"Sure thing, Don-don, you don't have to ask." With a chuckle at her disgusted expression - she thinks that my nickname for her is childish, and maybe she's right, but I like it - I ask "what are you guys going to argue about? You haven't seen each other in months. Don't you want to tell her about all the cool places we've seen?".<br/>
"I'd love to, but you know Buffy, she's weird… I mean, weirder when it's about you."<br/>
"I know." I make a space on the bed beside her, so I can sit, and put an arm around her shoulders. "You know how she feels about me. We all know it, she doesn't keep it a secret."<br/>
"Yeah, I know, but it's not you she should be angry with!"<br/>
I sigh, trying to remember how many times we had this discussion before. More than a thousand, for sure. "But it's easier for her to put the blame on me. I was never around."<br/>
"But it doesn't make sense! It's not like it was you who cheated!"<br/>
"Don, please."<br/>
"I'm sorry, but, really, I don't get it!"<br/>
It's time to change the topic. "Why don't you finish unpacking," I ask, getting up. "I'm going to see if your mum needs help for dinner."<br/>
Every step I take going downstairs to the kitchen, the voices from there get clearer. Joyce and Anne are still arguing about something.<br/>
"Why did you ask her, mum?! D'you like to be around her, too, now?"<br/>
"Honey, c'mon, don't get there again. Besides, it's getting dark already, it wouldn't be safe."<br/>
"Well, and after dinner? You're planning on letting her sleep here?"<br/>
"No, she's already booked a room in town. I have to get to the gallery, so I'll drive her there while you keep an eye on your sister."<br/>
"Mum! I have to patrol tonight."<br/>
"Can't your friends do it? It's just one night."<br/>
"Fine, but… how long she's gonna stay, has she said anything?"<br/>
I step into the kitchen with a smile. "Hey, d'you need any help?"<br/>
Both women jump, even if I didn't think I was so quiet as to sneak up on them. "No, thank you, Laurel. Dinner's almost ready."<br/>
I nod to Joyce and turn to Anne. "And An- ehm, Buffy, Dawn asked me to come with you guys tomorrow, it'd be like sister's day out before school starts for everyone."<br/>
"What do you mean, 'for everyone'?"<br/>
Again with the crossed arms, to which I can't stop my own eye roll. "You, college; Dawn, Junior High; and me, Primary school." My smile widens at her confused look. "I'm the new help teacher of the little monsters of Sunnydale."</p><p>Dinner is nice. If you could see us, there would be no doubt about Anne being Joyce’s daughter: they have the same wavy blond hair, but in different cuts; their eyes are a soft green that sparkles when the light is right; soft, thin lips; little, rosy noses; and they’re both slim and athletic looking. In Dawn’s case you would have to look closer: she has auburn, wavy hair; big, light blue eyes, but in the same shape as her mother’s; her lips are fuller, and she’s taller, but with the same thin physique. She took more from dad than Anne. Then, there is me: darker and wavier hair; my eyes are the darkest brown, almost black; my lips are not as full and not as thin as theirs; I'm not as slim, nor as pale, and I have wider hips; also, I’m shorter than any woman in this room. I look a lot like my mother, dad always said.<br/>
I like to observe them and let Dawn take care of the conversation, she has a lot to tell about her summer in Italy with me. I wonder if this is the first time that all Summers girls have been in a room together without someone yelling every five minutes. It must be a miracle.<br/>
I notice Anne catching my numerous glances towards her mother, and I need something that could explain them. Dawn gives me an idea. "Say, Don-don, this weekend, why don't you show me this bronze place you talked so much about? If it's okay with you, Joyce."<br/>
The woman shrugs. "I trust you won't make her drink, so..."<br/>
"Mum!"<br/>
Dawn gets in between her mother and sister. "She won't, she wouldn't let me near alcohol all summer, I swear!"<br/>
I chuckle at her outburst. "If you say it like that you sound suspicious, though." I look back at Anne sitting across the table from us. "Why don't we all go? Tomorrow night, my treat."</p><p>In my motel room, I put on some skinny jeans, a long, purple blouse, and a black suit jacket I used to wear when I was a sales assistant in a luxury shop in London. I put my long hair up, thinking back to today's shopping with a smile. I finally spent some time with Anne without a fight. Of course, snarky retorts and sly looks were aplenty, but I think that we made a fine step forward in our troubled relationship; even if it was Don-don who carried most of the conversations.<br/>
The knock on the door reminds me that it's time to go. I open it to let my little sisters in, while I put on low, heeled black boots. "You look hot, girls!"<br/>
Dawn eyes me up and down. "Aren't you too casual? What about the green dress you bought at that little boutique-?"<br/>
"Nah, I'll leave it for a lonely night", I wink at her.<br/>
"C'mon, Dawn." Anne pushes lightly our giggling little sister outside the door, and I close it behind me. She hisses, "would you stop being so open about...that? She's thirteen!".<br/>
"Are you blushing?", I tease her in a whisper.<br/>
"I'm not!"<br/>
"I didn't peg you for a prude, Anny."<br/>
Now she'll barely say a word to me all night, I'm sure of it. I couldn't let it slide, though, her expression was priceless.<br/>
We don't take long to get to the Bronze, one of the few fun places in town. There are scattered groups smoking and chatting outside and no line to get in. Of course, I pay the entrance fee for the three of us, stepping from the chilly summer's end night to the crowded and loud warmth inside. Chattering and live music swallow us whole.<br/>
I'm leaning against the bar waiting for my second drink, when someone suddenly sits on the stool beside me and a chill runs through my spine. There's not so many people that can have the jump on me, my funny-fogs always precede them. In my life I have only seen a couple of things without a funny-fog around them, and nothing good.<br/>
I glance at the man beside me who's looking straight at me with sky blue eyes. He has bleached blonde, gelled hair and pronounced, high cheekbones, and is wearing a long black, leather coat. A small part of my mind is wondering if he won't be too warm, when he talks to me with a British accent. "Buffy had to leave, she asked me to get you and Dawn back home safe."<br/>
I feel cold sweat on my brow, and I really hope he can't actually hear my panicked heartbeat. "I don't know you, so thanks, but no thanks."<br/>
"Spike", he offers me his hand.<br/>
I look down at it and back up at the man. "Seriously?"<br/>
He shrugs.<br/>
Dawn comes up to us. "We can stay a little longer, right?" She looks between us with a pleading look.<br/>
"You know him?!"<br/>
She nods. "Uhuh. He's Spike."<br/>
"Seriously?" My drink is ready and forgotten on the bar. I take Dawn's hand and take a few steps away from the blonde man. "How long have you known him for?"<br/>
"I don't know, since we moved here, I guess, he's a… kind of a friend of Buffy, why?"<br/>
That can't be right. "Let's go."<br/>
I head to the exit, but Dawn pulls at my hand. "We should tell Spike."<br/>
"Don", I stop and turn to face her. "I don't know him, so I don't trust him. And what kind of a stupid name is Spike?!"<br/>
"The name I chose for myself, luv."<br/>
I feel my blood freeze.<br/>
"If you two ladies are done, we should head out now."<br/>
I take a firmer hold of Dawn's hand and let myself be pulled by her in following him outside.<br/>
"Why did Buffy bale on us?"<br/>
"She had… things, school things came up."<br/>
I ignore the obvious lie from Don-don, and don't take my eyes off of the man. I stay a step or two back, clinging to Dawn's hand, who's chattering to both of us as if nothing unusual is going on. Maybe not for her, but I can't believe that this blonde man-shaped thing actually knows and hangs out with my sisters. I need a smoke. I let go of Dawn's hand, taking extra focus in keeping an eye on her funny-fog, while I roll up a cigarette.<br/>
Patting my pockets, I sigh when I realise that I don't have a lighter with me. In fact, I was trying to quit, damnit. I stop at a clicking sound and the flame from a silver zippo appearing in front of me. I accept the man's offer and light my cigarette, watching him carefully. Damn I'm scared. I've never been so close to one of them.<br/>
He lights a packed cigarette for himself and we begin to walk side by side with Dawn in front of us. "Why do you guys have to smoke now?! I was getting to the good part! Hurry, I can't stand the stink."<br/>
We take a few drags without saying a word, I can barely hear our footsteps above my heartbeat thundering in my ears.<br/>
"You're scared of me."<br/>
Dawn is far enough that she cannot hear us whispering, I hope; still, I'm not admitting anything to him. "I'm not."<br/>
"Are you always this frightened by strangers, then?"<br/>
"Just the ones hiding behind stupid nicknames, or the ones who are not human." I should have feigned ignorance, shouldn't I.<br/>
He raises an eyebrow. "Well, well, that's interesting. So you know what I am?"<br/>
"A vampire, maybe?"<br/>
"What else could I be?"<br/>
I think he is trying to make me spill something, but I don't know what. "Anything else that dies and can still walk around looking…" I look him up and down. His coat is open, and the black tee he's wearing under it is quite fit. "Like that", I finish, looking away.<br/>
"Like what, luv?"<br/>
He's laughing at me. In his place I would laugh at me, too. Who in his right mind would think a corpse attractive?! The fear is playing tricks on my mind, that's the only reason.<br/>
"Still, you let your little sister and you get escorted home?"<br/>
Is he just curious or is he trying to taunt me? I look ahead, watching Dawn's funny-fog. "She's safe."<br/>
"I know that. But how can you, if you're so scared of me?"<br/>
"I know what I know", I answer vaguely. He doesn't need to know that I'm scared for myself, because I can be sure of Dawn's immediate future, but not mine. I know she'll get home, I can see it.<br/>
We're reaching Joyce's house, and my fear sparks up even stronger. I have to ask. "You won't go inside, will you?"<br/>
"I could, you know. I've been invited in."<br/>
My breath catches in my throat and I feel my head spin for a second. Can fear be so overwhelming?<br/>
"I won't, though. I promised Buffy to get you home safe, too."<br/>
I widen my eyes at him. What does Anne know about him, I wonder. Does she really trust him? "She worried about me?" That is an unbelievable thought I could never fathom.<br/>
Dawn says goodnight before getting inside and giving us a look I can't decipher.<br/>
I'm alone with a vampire, I suddenly realise.<br/>
"Don't worry, luv. I can't bite humans."<br/>
I roll up another cigarette. "I don't believe you", but, still, I begin to walk towards the motel I'm staying in.<br/>
"Suits yourself", he replies, lighting my cigarette again. "You smoke a lot."<br/>
"I'm nervous. I was trying to quit."<br/>
"Do I make you nervous?"<br/>
Is he flirting?! He doesn't get an answer from me.<br/>
"I'm wondering, luv. Why did you say nothing to your sister?"<br/>
"What? About you being a vampire? No way. I'd scare her shitless, or she'd think me crazy."<br/>
"You'd be surprised."<br/>
I don't like what his tone might imply. "How long have you known them?"<br/>
"Four years, give or take." He shrugs.<br/>
Dawn said something similar, so I guess that, as much as it seems absurd to me, it must be true. "And, what, you're a friend to humans? A friendly neighbor vamp?"<br/>
"I'm no one's friend, luv. I just do what I can to help and I get to pound on demons."<br/>
I guess that as a vampire he must know about demons and other supernatural creatures.<br/>
"Ah, nothing new to you, it seems."<br/>
It's my time to shrug.<br/>
"I feel like you know more than you let on."<br/>
"As do you."<br/>
"Still, before today, I've never heard of you."<br/>
"It's not a surprise. Ann- Buffy doesn't like to admit that I exist."<br/>
"You two don't get along?"<br/>
I glance at him. "Nope. She doesn't like me. She doesn't want to think about me. Talk to me. Or even of me. And I can't really blame her."<br/>
"Maybe you should."<br/>
"Nah, I think that no one's to blame, actually. So, if she wants to keep it up, it's fine by me. I'll have time to change her mind now that I'm staying."<br/>
"You talk all mature. I don't get it."<br/>
"I'm sure you d-"<br/>
"No, I mean that you look too young to sound so grown up."<br/>
"I'm twenty six."<br/>
"Get out of here. You're not!"<br/>
His reaction makes me chuckle. "I am!" Oh gosh, a vampire made me laugh.<br/>
"You're older than Buffy?"<br/>
"Yes."<br/>
"So, what happened?"<br/>
"I'll give you the short version: same father, different mothers. Dad hid me away in Italy, where I grew up. When Joyce found out about me, they had Anne - Buffy, I mean - tried to patch up things. Had Dawn. Get divorced. I tried to get closer to my sisters, went around the globe a bit, got a job here. Now I am trying to patch things up. Not with Joyce, of course, we have a cordial relationship and that's the best I can hope for."<br/>
"That's short."<br/>
"Told you, short version."<br/>
He exhales a big cloud of smoke.<br/>
"How long have you been a vampire?"<br/>
"That's kind of a personal question, luv."<br/>
"And yours wasn't?"<br/>
"Alright. Short version? A long time."<br/>
"Not fair."<br/>
"Life's not fair, luv. You should know that."<br/>
I glance up at him by my side a lot, while we walk. The fear has subsided and I'm quite enjoying his company. I must be mad.<br/>
A few steps from the motel, I want to really know something. "I'll tell you a secret, and you tell me your name."<br/>
"It's Spi-"<br/>
"You're real name. Deal?" I stop and offer him my hand.<br/>
"Deal." His hand is not as cold as I'd expected.<br/>
I tap my finger on my lips. "So, a secret…"<br/>
"How about, you tell me how you were so sure Dawn was safe?"<br/>
"Okay." I try to think of the easiest way to explain my funny-fogs. "I could see it. Her. Getting home safe. Your turn."<br/>
He looks down at me, searching something in my eyes for a long time, making me nervous and worried he won't hold up his end of the deal. Then, he smirks at me. "William."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Funny-fogs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Laurel shows us some more of her personality and confides some of her secrets to William.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Miss Summers?"<br/>I turn towards the door of the noisy classroom, where another teacher is calling me.<br/>When I get to her, she explains more. "There's a call for you, they sent me to replace you for the few hours left."<br/>"Replace me?"<br/>"They said it was urgent, from the hospital."<br/>I can only hear my heartbeat as I travel the corridors to the principal's office and the phone.<br/>"Hello?"<br/>"Laurel?"<br/>"Anne, what happened?"<br/>"It's my mom, I can't reach Dawn, she's not home, she was-"<br/>"Anne", I try to interrupt her rushing words.<br/>"...to get straight-"<br/>"Buffy!"<br/>"What?" Now, at least, she sounds less panicked and a little pissed. I like piss off better.<br/>"What happened to Joyce?"<br/>"I don't… she seems fine now, she's awake. They're running tests. Laurel, I need to find Dawn, but I can't leave…"<br/>"It's done, don't worry, I'll bring her to you."<br/>She breathes out a "thank you", before cutting off.<br/>Where would Don be? Junior high ends a lot sooner than primary school, she should have been home by now. A bing from my purse, as I walk out the school, distracts me from my thoughts. It's a text from Buffy - Dawn has put my number in her cellphone. Okay, good, she gave me a few addresses I can check out. One is really close to my place, so I decide to drive the known road first as I get in my leased car.<br/>Parking in front of my building, I look around across the street, and, tucked in a corner, I see the magic shop Buffy texted me about.<br/>A bell chimes above me when I open the door. There are a few people browsing the shelves, some sitting at a round table full of books half hidden by a bookshelf, and a man with an open tome in his hands strutting around.<br/>I step closer to the counter to look for help, but the man intercepts me saying "hello. May I help you?".<br/>"Hi, I'm looking for Dawn?" If you don't know that I'm talking about a girl and not the ascending sun, I may sound really odd.<br/>"Laurel?"<br/>I turn towards my sister's voice coming from the group sitting at the round table. I ignore the man asking "you know her?", or the curious looks from the guys at the table.<br/>"Buffy asked me to find you." I get closer, so I can talk to her in a somewhat private fashion. "We need to go to the hospital."<br/>"Hospital?"<br/>Not so much privacy if she shouts it, isn't it.<br/>"What happened to Buffy?"<br/>And chaos ensues. A red headed girl gets up all worried and in a panic asks about my sister. As does the brunette young man at the other side of the table. Two blonde girls try to calm what I assume are their friends, with no much result. The man who offered me help is trying to calm the guys down and asking questions all at the same time.<br/>Fed up in about a minute of this insanity, I speak up, not caring to sound rude. "Please, people, shut up." Cutting off the protests before they could fully form, I add, "this is Summers family business. Don, we need to go".<br/>Dawn and the red-head talk at the same time, but my attention is caught by the angry words from the stranger girl.<br/>"...the hell are you, anyway?"<br/>"I'm their sister", I interrupt her tirade.<br/>The silence that follows takes me by surprise. I suppose that they may know Buffy, after all. "Dawn, it's not Buffy, it's Joyce, she's fine now, but they're waiting for test results. I came to pick you up."<br/>Finally moving away from the crowded table, Don asks me, "why? What happened?".<br/>"I don't know." Three funny-fogs are going to follow us outside. They must really know Buffy. "She was too worried about not finding you at home to tell me much." Stepping out the shop and walking to my car, I look over my shoulders. "D'you guys need a lift?"<br/>The man, the boy and the red headed girl nod, mumbling questions and thanks, which I ignore. I don't have time for them now. I turn back my attention to Dawn, who sits shotgun. "Seatbelts. Why were you hanging out in a magic shop, anyway, don't you have homework to do? At home?"<br/>"Mom doesn't like me to be home alone, you know that, and you were still at work, so I went to hang out with the gang."<br/>For a second she's completely focused on our argument that she's able to put the thought of the hospital aside and act pissed. I like when my sisters are pissed at me, it's better than panicked.<br/>"What <em>gang</em> would that be?!"<br/>The girl at the back picks her head in between us. "Us, actually. We're the gang. Hi, I'm Willow", she waves.<br/>I glance at the rearview mirror. "Sorry for my little outburst before. I didn't know you're Buffy's friends."<br/>The boy tries to out stage the red-head from the space between the front seats, "and we didn't have a clue there was another sister. From England! Sounds like. That girl loves her surprises."<br/>"Actually, I grew up in Italy."<br/>Once at the hospital, I let them get ahead of me. I need a minute to process. It's beginning, it's happening right now. I feel my head spin for a second - too much contrasting emotions are overwhelming me - before a red-hot fog passes through me. I flinch, as if it burned me for a second. I blink. Red?<br/>Someone bumps into me.<br/>"Oh, sorry, didn't see you."<br/>I look up at the young man in scrubs who's still touching my shoulder. I can almost feel blisters sprouting on my skin, under the coat, and jacket, and shirt, and undershirt. What the hell is happening?!<br/>I have just enough breath to murmur, with a fake smile in place, "I wasn't looking", before dashing out of his hold and the corridor.<br/>I reach my sisters in a daze and sit down beside Dawn, not at all aware of what surrounds me until I hear Buffy's voice coming from where she wasn't before.<br/>"Laurel, I need to talk to you."<br/>I nod and follow her a few steps away from the group.<br/>"It's not the first time it happened, and they still don't know what's wrong with her. It might take a while, but Dawn can't stay here all day."<br/>"Buffy", I stop her. I squeeze her shoulder. "I'm here for you. Whatever you need."<br/>She nods. She just nods, but she doesn't move away from my hold.<br/>I park in front of their house and glance at Dawn at my side.<br/>"You hungry?"<br/>She gives me a non committal shrug, before getting out.<br/>It's already dark, but the porch lights are on and, as we walk to the door, I catch a glimpse of smoke - the cigarette kind - from beyond a nearby tree. I let my sister precedes me inside, but I stop at the open door and turn around.<br/>"Hello, William."<br/>The bleached blonde vampire comes into view with his bellowing black coat. "Evening, Laurel."<br/>I smirk. "Are you taking a stroll or have you come to see Buffy?"<br/>"Just came by to say hi."<br/>I don't really believe him, but it's none of my business, and I shrug it away. "I'm making dinner, would you like to snack on some human food and have some somber company?"<br/>He looks me up and down - he does that often, and it always makes me feel funny. As he starts to move towards the door, I don't wait for him to reach me, but get inside first.<br/>Taking off my coat and my heels, I get to the kitchen and put some water to boil. Looking through the pantries, I find some salty snacks, open the packet, put it on the isle and grab a few as William sits down with his coat still on.<br/>"Joyce put you on babysitter duty tonight?"<br/>I shake my head and swallow a bite. "No, Buffy did. They're still at the hospital."<br/>I have my back on him in the following silence.<br/>At the end, he asks "what happened".<br/>"Joyce fainted, I think. They're not sure." I turn around to grab my purse. "Damn! What time is it?"<br/>"Late."<br/>"Not helpful", I retort, rummaging through my things. "I need to call Marcus", I mumble, grabbing my phone, looking through the contacts list.<br/>"Who's Marcus?"<br/>Glancing over at him, I see him grin.<br/>"A guy." I dial and put the phone between ear and shoulder, so my hands are free to keep on looking for a tomato sauce in the cupboards.<br/>William taunts me a bit, while I wait for the call to connect, but I ignore him.<br/>"Hello?"<br/>"Mark, hi, it's Laurel."<br/>"Hey gorgeous, I was just stepping out to get to your place."<br/>"Oh, good, I caught you in time."<br/>"Something wrong?"<br/>"Not really. I have to cancel tonight, though, I have to deal with a family problem. Rain check?"<br/>"Sure, no worries. I'll call you tomorrow?"<br/>"Thanks, but… maybe this weekend would be better."<br/>"Have I told you how sexy you sound?"<br/>"Yes, you did."<br/>"Good. Well, okay, talk to you soon."<br/>"Bye."<br/>"Good night."<br/>I end the call and put the phone down.<br/>"Look at you. Here for, how long? And already got yourself a man."<br/>"It's been a couple of months already. And being a foreigner has a certain amount of flair for these small town boys." Keep talking nonsense, I tell myself, keep your mind away from it all.<br/>I put the tomato sauce on a smaller flame, and the pasta in the boiling water. A pinch of salt, and all that's left to do is wait.<br/>"I should check on Don", I sigh, resting my hands on the isle. Glancing up on the other side of it to the blue-eyed vampire in front of me, I ask, "would you mind keeping an eye on dinner?".<br/>"Sure."<br/>I ignore his cryptic look and get out. Going upstairs, I check my breathing, trying to bury all of it down, deep down. I have to have it together for Don.<br/>I knock on her door, but go inside nonetheless when she doesn't answer. "Don-don, I made some pasta."<br/>She's straddled on the bed, and I sit beside her.<br/>"I know you don't feel all that hungry, but try to eat something before bed. I'll keep it warm for you. Then some sleep would be good. Tomorrow is a new day, and we'll have some news, I'm sure of it."<br/>"What do you care? It's not your mum."<br/>It's nothing personal, I know, she is just hurting. I murmur "but you're my sister. I care about you and the people you love", and get up. I get that Dawn is in no mood to talk, but the silence is letting my mind go where it shouldn't, and I can't take it anymore. "I'll be downstairs."<br/>I feel tears of frustration slip down my cheeks and, as I re-enter the kitchen, I try to hide from William's eyes with the practiced tactic of looking down and hiding behind my long hair. I prepare three plates, putting a lid on one and the other two on the isle.<br/>"You know I don't need that, luv."<br/>"Sure. You can enjoy it nonetheless, can't you?"<br/>"Uhm, thanks."<br/>The silence grows. There's our chewing, and my heartbeat, my breathing, and images in my mind I shouldn't want to see right now.<br/>"Talk to me, William. Please."<br/>"What's wrong, luv?"<br/>I didn't plea, did I? I push the almost untouched dinner away from me and put my head in my hands, sighing heavily, trying to get my thoughts straight.<br/>"Everything. Me. I'm wrong. I should have done something, said something. But you can't go against something like that, something your body does to itself. I'm not even worried about her. Just them, <em>my</em> sisters."<br/>"I don't follow you, luv."<br/>"How could you, I'm not making any sense."<br/>He is suddenly beside me, taking my hands away from my head. I glance up at him, surprised.<br/>"You can make sense when you want to. Why don't you start from the beginning?"<br/>"Why are you so nice to me?"<br/>A pause. "You're Buffy's sister."<br/>"You care about her, so you care for whoever she cares about, right?"<br/>"We weren't talking about me."<br/>"Sorry. But it's the same, you know. I don't care for anybody but my sisters in this town. Maybe even in this world. Isn't it wrong?"<br/>"You're asking the wrong person."<br/>"You're the only one I can ask."<br/>I have to stop the silence.<br/>"They're <em>mine</em>, William. Can you understand that? I belong to them, and they to <em>me</em>." I look down. "I don't like to feel this way. I'm possessive, even if I know that's not healthy. So I fake it. I fake to care about their mother, to feel something for Marcus above simple lust. I pretend everyday as I walk in that school and greet parents and children with the widest smile I can manage, so they think I'm happy to be there and see them." I chuckle. "I'm only there because it's a paid job!"<br/>"I don't see anything wrong with that."<br/>"No?"<br/>"No. You survive, as do the rest of them. But you know it, at least. They're the biggest pretenders."<br/>"Still, anybody else would look at me as if I'm a sociopath." I look up at him again. He is still very close, looking me in the eyes without judgement.<br/>"Now, that you might still be", he begins with a smile. "But I've seen worse."<br/>I think it is the first time I have seen him genuinely smile.<br/>"Time to get back to the juicy stuff, luv. What d'you mean, you should've done something?"<br/>Oh, that.<br/>"What about: 'you can't fight something your body does to itself'?"<br/>I look away. "I was ranting."<br/>"You're not the ranting type."<br/>I look for a way out of that talk, but don't find any.<br/>"You're hiding something."<br/>"Am not."<br/>I try to get up and away, but he puts his hands on my shoulders and holds me down, firmly.<br/>"I'm not buying it."<br/>"I'm not selling."<br/>"Bullocks. You're selling it hard." He takes my chin and forces me to look him in the eyes. "I want to know what."<br/>"Say I'll tell you." I'm going crazy just suggesting it. "And you go and tell Buffy. She'll hate me even more. I can't have that. I <em>need</em> her."<br/>"Why would she hate you? Because you could've stopped it?"<br/>"No one can stop it."<br/>"Then, why?"<br/>"Because I didn't say anything. She'll wonder until madness: 'what if I did that', 'what if I knew that'. A whole lot of stupid, useless what ifs. It won't help with the grief."<br/>"What grief? No one's going to die."<br/>My silence is speaking for itself.<br/>"Isn't it?"<br/>I look down.<br/>"Who's going to die? Joyce?"<br/>I still don't answer, neither by word nor gesture.<br/>"You're a seer."<br/>I meet his eyes again, raising an eyebrow in confusion.<br/>"You saw it. And that night with Dawn. You can see the future."<br/>I get up, shaking my head no. "Not the future. I'm no seer, not even sure they exist."<br/>"Believe me, they do. Well then, what are you?"<br/>"Human."<br/>"Nice try." He gets in front of me again. "What are you?"<br/>I shrug. I can't really lie when I don't know the answer. "I dunno."<br/>"You can see something."<br/>"Yes."<br/>He takes his pack from the coat pocket and nods towards the kitchen door leading to the backyard. "Tell me."<br/>I accept a cigarette from him and precedes him outside.<br/>"Why should I trust you?"<br/>He lights both cigarettes. "Why shouldn't you? We met months ago and I didn't bite once. You heard about me from your sisters by now." His expression becomes sullen. "I'm no menace."<br/>"I need you to promise me. You'll say nothing about it to Buffy. I can't have her interrogate me, I couldn't take it. I can't take her thinking I'm a freak of nature. Please, William. Promise me."<br/>I plea with my voice and my eyes.<br/>"I promise."<br/>With a sigh, I sit down on the back porch steps. "Thank you."<br/>He sits down next to me, closer than I would have imagined being comfortable with him just a few weeks ago. He doesn't say a word, waiting for me to begin.<br/>Where to, though? How can I explain something that is visible for just me? "I call them funny-fogs." I take a drag and close my eyes, inhale and exhale, trying to let go of the switch I put on my consciousness. When I open my eyes again, I can see everything. "I see them on people, like shadows, and everywhere around them. If I don't focus, it's hard for me to see people's faces clearly. I can manage to block them now, but they're always there, under the surface. Moving, vibrating. They show me movement before the actual person moves; direction before the person decides where to go. They don't have actual colour…" I saw red today, though, didn't I? "They shimmer like hot air on hot pavement during summer. But they have texture. That's why I like to shake hands with people when I meet them. I can taste what they really are."<br/>I glance at William.<br/>"Funny fogs. Really?"<br/>I shrug. "When I got here… Joyce's one showed me, somehow, that it'll stop moving."<br/>He furrows his eyebrows and tosses his stump, stomping on it. I do the same. "What does it mean?"<br/>"When a funny-fog becomes still," I explain, "it's a sign that the body won't move anymore". I face him. "And where there's no fog at all, there's just a corpse."<br/>"I don't have a funny fog."<br/>I nod.<br/>"I'm not a corpse, though."<br/>"You're dead anyway."<br/>"Are you trying to convince me or yourself, luv?"<br/>I look away. Sunnydale has made me go bunkers for sure.<br/>"You're a witch, then, some kind of magick's user."<br/>"Those are real, too?"<br/>"You don't know a lot, do you, luv."<br/>I shrug. "I know what I know."<br/>"I'm getting it, now. What about your own funny fog, then?"<br/>"I can't see it."<br/>"Wouldn't it mean you're a corpse, too?"<br/>I shiver. "No way. I breathe, I have a pulse. I'm alive, I just can't see it."<br/>"Or, you're something else entirely."<br/>"Like what?"<br/>"A demon, perhaps?"<br/>"They have them, too."<br/>"You've seen them, then."<br/>"London. The city was full of them. Their fogs are wilder, but they're there, still."<br/>"You can be something else other than human just the same, and we may never know. The world is full of creatures of the dark."<br/>"You should know."<br/>"You bet."<br/>"Can I tell you another secret?"<br/>"Just a few minutes ago, you weren't that trusting."<br/>I humph a mix of chuckle and sigh. "People change, I guess."<br/>"You change fast, luv."<br/>"Can I tell you?"<br/>"I won't tell a soul. Or anything else, human or otherwise."<br/>I chuckle. "Something happened today at the hospital that made me as happy as I've ever been."<br/>He raises his eyebrows, waiting in silence for me to continue.<br/>"Buffy needed me."<br/>A real smile curves my lips.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi everyone!<br/>Because I'm Italian, I don't really know how the US school system works, I just have a vague idea, and I'm leavining it at that, because I'm too lazy to look up the specifics and be accurate on something not so important for the story XD</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi!<br/>I created the OC in this story mainly to save Spike from the character he became in the last seasons of Buffy. I'm not sure if I want them in a romantic relationship or not, and I have only a vague idea on how to procede the story.<br/>So, leave kudos, comments, suggestions, anything to let me know if you like the concept or not! :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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